Reduce Waste

Most people don't realize that reducing, reusing, and recycling can help slow climate change. How? To begin with, every product has a life cycle, and every step—from manufacturing to disposal—leads to greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing, reusing, and recycling means you buy (and throw away) less stuff, and that helps reduce the amount of greenhouse gases we're adding to the atmosphere. Learn more about product life cycles. (Alternative version)

You can reduce greenhouse gas emissions if you:

Reduce. Reduce the amount of new stuff you buy. To reduce waste, buy things that have less packaging.

Reuse. Try to borrow or rent things you'll only need for a short amount of time, and reuse the things you already have. When you have things you no longer need, give them to others who can use them. Use reusable bags when you go shopping.

Recycle. Remember to recycle whatever materials you can, like bottles, cans, and paper, so they can be collected and remade into new products.

The Life Cycle of a Product

Raw materials (like trees, metals, and oil) are harvested or extracted from the Earth.

Raw materials are transported and processed in a factory.

The materials are used to manufacture and package a product.

The product is transported to a distribution center or warehouse.

The product is transferred to a store.

Every one of these steps uses energy and creates greenhouse gases. So does disposing of products when you're done with them. The trucks that pick up your trash have to burn fuel, which produces greenhouse gases. In some parts of the country, trash ends up getting burned (often to produce energy), which also produces greenhouse gases. Landfills also emit greenhouse gases—particularly methane and carbon dioxide—which are given off by decomposing waste.